NEWS: Line-up for first AMPLIFY SEASONS event announced

The event on Friday 4 July in the Neville Studio opens with FRENEMIES, a double bill of work-in-progress, including:

Spare Goose by Danica Corns of Smashed Avocado Productions, created as part of the Nottingham Playhouse Writers Group last year.

When Isabelle unexpectedly barges into Kate’s toilet cubicle and refuses to leave, Kate wants answers. Answers Isabelle isn’t ready to give. But with a final bridal fitting to get to, Kate must step into her best friend’s shoes to get her to open up before she misses the appointment and disappoints her perfectionist mother. As secrets are revealed and lies are uncovered, there’s an air that things are not the same. People change. People grow. People move on. And so do friendships. Don’t they?

The development of Spare Goose is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

The second part of the double bill work-in-progress is:

F*ck You, Claire by Rosie Hollingworth of Sugar Theatre, whose previous work Scruffy toured to the Camden and Brighton fringe in 2023.

F*ck You, Claire is the story of Penelope’s fight with her many hang-ups, as she begins a tumultuous yet insightful journey towards self-acceptance. Climb aboard this rollercoaster of mid-twenties confusion – confronting inner demons and irrational hat fixations along the way. This show challenges you to seek out the beauty within the chaos, uncover the pockets of sunshine and rediscover the forgotten gems amidst the dirty clothes pile.

The evening closes with BoonDog Theatre’s production of Lovett, a prequel to the life of Mrs Lovett from the story of Sweeney Todd. Written and performed by Lucy Roslyn, with direction by Jamie Firth, this play explores what led to her poverty-induced brutal choices of baking humans into pies, and is heading to the Edinburgh Festival in August.

Mrs Lovett famously suggested cannibalism to Sweeney Todd as a solution to how to dispose of a body. But butchers are not born … they are made. Set before those events, discover what ultimately leads her to turn his victims into pies.

The daughter of a Winchester Goose sex-worker and a dockland Whaler, Eleanor was sandwiched between two codes: religion and butchery. She learns that flesh is currency here, whether it is butchering whales on the docks or selling sex in the alleyways. After her mother’s body is stolen from Crossbones Graveyard and sold to St Thomas Hospital for dissection, it solidifies a belief for Eleanor: God isn’t watching.

This first AMPLIFY SEASONS: SUMMER programme was created through an open ideas submissions window, with a decision-making panel of 10 going through entries and the Artist Development producer curating the final selection. The panel consisted of local artists and the Nottingham Playhouse creative community, who were able to learn more about the programming process.

There are four AMPLIFY: SEASONS events per year which give artists the chance to connect with, and receive feedback from, audiences and industry on their work at various stages of development.

 Beccy D’Souza, Artist Development Producer, said:

“AMPLIFY SEASONS: SUMMER is kicking off with a brilliant trio of shows written and performed by Midlands artists, and it’s a privilege to be able to provide support and resource to these artists and companies at a pivotal time in the development of their shows. I’m excited to connect local audiences with this work, and to see how this impacts on where it goes next. I’m so looking forward to the evening, I think it promises to be really fun, fresh and fruitful … and this is just the beginning.”

Danica Corns, writer of Spare Goose, said:

“The Amplify programme at Nottingham Playhouse has been pivotal in getting me to this point, giving me the confidence to run with my ideas and challenging me to be bolder and even more fearless in my work.

“I am filled with both excitement and a few nerves as I look to present a work-in-progress section of my play Spare Goose to an audience as part of the AMPLIFY: SEASONS line up. It’s a crucial step in shaping the development of my play, giving me an opportunity to see how an audience reacts and helping me to refine or rework any moments so that I can sculpt the script into performance-ready shape.”

Rosie Hollingworth, writer of F*ck You, Claire, commented:

“I am beyond excited to be taking a scratch of F*ck you, Claire to AMPLIFY: SEASONS this year. It is an absolute joy sharing new material with eager new viewers, and there’s no better feeling than being able to sink our teeth into the story together as one group.

“It’s rough round the edges still and the audiences at this stage become secondary characters almost, as together we make special connections and share moments that will aid the completion of the story. Without opportunities like AMPLIFY: SEASONS, I don’t believe I would ever get to perform a finished show!”

Jamie Firth, Director of Lovett, said:

“This will be the very first public performance of Lovett and give us a great chance to get audience feedback to fine tune it ahead of the Edinburgh Fringe and a UK Tour. We’re so lucky to have opportunities like this in the Midlands in such a wonderful space as the Neville Studio – we can’t wait!”

Nottingham Playhouse’s Amplify artist development programme has over 950 members, and offers support through free workshops, mentoring, one to one sessions, co-working days, a networking platform and use of space at Nottingham Playhouse. Led by Beccy D’Souza, Artist Development Producer, the programme continues to expand its reach and has a real impact on artists’ careers.

Tickets for AMPLIFY SEASONS: SUMMER are now on sale.

AMPLIFY: SEASONS is generously supported by the Fenton Arts Trust. The Trust seek to assist individuals and organisations who are making a worthwhile contribution to the artistic and cultural life of this country – notably by offering support to artists at the beginning of their careers.